Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont women's basketball team (3-5) grabbed an early double digit lead and never looked back on Saturday night in part one of the Battle of the Boulevard. The Bruins dominated former Atlantic Sun rival Lipscomb (0-6), 70-54, in Allen Arena.
The Bruins opened the contest tough defensively with Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) collecting her first block of the night on the first shot of the game and junior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) forcing a steal. Baskets by Coleman and a pair by senior Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) put BU on top 6-4 early. Visbeen remained hot from the floor, extending her run to 7-0 with two at the charity stripe and a triple from the left side of the arc to give Belmont an 11-6 lead with 12:51 left on the clock.
Junior Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) drained a trey from the opposite side of the arc to extend BU's run to 11-0 and take a 17-6 lead with 10:24 on the clock as Lipscomb struggled to emerge from a drought that pushed four minutes. The Bruins continued charging, propelled by buckets by freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.), redshirt freshman Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas), Downs and Coleman. Belmont's defensive pressure kept LU from even reaching double digits in scoring until there were only six minutes remaining in the first half. A pair of trifectas by Ernst sandwiched a Coleman jumper, giving Belmont its first 20-point lead of the night by the 3:32 mark. The Lady Bisons would only be able to inch with 17 before a Downs jumper sent BU to the locker room up, 40-21.
After the break, the Lady Bisons attempted to cut into BU's sizeable lead with a quick 4-0 run to open the game but Ernst's third and fourth triples of the night nullified their efforts. Lipscomb was frigid from the hardwood, hitting only one field goal in the first five and a half minutes of play as Belmont grabbed its biggest lead of the night, 25, behind the back end of a pair at the stripe by Joubran.
LU eventually managed to string together a 9-0 run to cut BU's lead to 52-35 by the 12 minute mark. However, as quickly as it started, the Bruins quickly squashed the Lady Bisons effort with tough defense and by draining more shots from all over the floor. Belmont seemed regained its 20-point lead for good behind a jumper in the lane by Visbeen with 8:13 left in the contest. Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) netted her first three pointer of the night, forcing LU to call timeout as BU moved ahead, 64-41, two minutes later.
In the final 90 seconds, the Bruins saw point production from sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) and freshman Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) that brought the Bruin crowd who traveled down the Boulevard to its feet. Lipscomb added four more before the buzzer but Belmont cruised to the 70-54 victory. It marked the third consecutive win for BU in the series.
Lipscomb shot 34 percent from the floor, 20 percent from long range and 70.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Bisons held the advantage in rebounds, 34-30.
Mallory Charpentier was the lone LU player to reach double digits, adding 13 points. O'Neisha Smith led the team in rebounds, grabbing eight.
Belmont shot 50 percent from the hardwood, 47.6 percent from behind the three-point arc and 54.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in assists, 23-4, blocks, 4-0, and steals, 6-4. BU also finished with a season-low eight turnovers.
Visbeen led the Bruins with a game-high 20 points. Ernst netted 17, including five three pointers, her first in four contests. Downs added eight points in the effort. Senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with a game-high six assists while Coleman tallied a game-high two blocks.
Belmont returns to the road for action on Tuesday night. The Bruins travel for a game at Indiana. Tip-off time is set for 6 p.m. The matchup can be heard live via the internet on the Bruin Sports Network. Video and live stats will be available as well as a live Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB).
